A Timeless Friendship
by Thea Rose
Summary: This story takes place after a war against the vampires. The humans suffered a humiliating defeat and the tyranny of the vampires has become a tragic reality. Harlyn and Elijah first met on a cloudy night in Melbourne and since then a friendship was formed. Although a dark secret divides them. Will he ever get to tell her how he really feels, before it's too late?


The Bite of '87 was a devastating war, a war no human could have survived. We were outnumbered, and were slaughtered by the vampires. There was no mercy shown for the humans, the women were devoured, the children's heads and bodies were hanging from pikes and the men were lacerated and left to freeze from the biting snow.

The snow on the ground had thick gluggy blood spread for miles, you could hear the crunch of bones as you stood on their remains. Not a single soul lingered around the battlefield.

We are slaves to the endless reign of the vampires. For many years Vampire Hunters have kept the surviving humans safe, they have kept peace between those beasts and the humans. One night, my father returned to the cloudy city of Melbourne with a young boy clinging to his long overcoat. The boy looked no older than myself, 'this is Elijah', his parents were killed by a bad vampire.' My father told me quietly. 'Harlyn, please take care of him, okay?'

I didn't say a word, I nodded my head and lightly touched Elijah's hand, you can come inside and sit by the warm fire I said quietly. I gently weaved my fingers through his and lead him into the house.

For a while we did not speak, it wasn't completely silent, there was the sound of crackling beside us as the fire burned bright and the soft ticking of an old grandfather clock. The final moments of silence were broken by my voice. 'Are you hurt?' I asked. The boy didn't say a word, he simply scraped his fingers down the left side of his neck and winced at the pain he had caused.

I jumped at the boy, grabbing his hand in the process. 'Stop!' I cry 'that's hurting you!' I could feel is muscles in his arm tense as he fought against me. His hand was smeared with blood from his wound,

I placed my hands softly on either side of his broad shoulders and carefully slid his coat off his stick-like body.

The left side of his neck was almost entirely covered with blood.

A quiet gasp slips through my mouth, the boy did not say a word. He simply stared blankly at the bland carpet in front of him.

Without another word I jumped to my feet and ran, as I ran I could feel tears now starting to form in my eyes. I wasn't running because I was afraid or felt sick, I ran straight to the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth and a small basin. I filled the basin with a small amount of warm glistening water and then carefully carried it to the radiant fireplace. I dipped the cloth in the soothing water, and cautiously went up to the Elijah and asked "is it okay to clean you off?" I asked his permission, every time I did something, but Elijah never said a word. I was being so gentle because, I felt the boy in front of me, would fall to pieces otherwise.

I am often dwelling in the past, the haunting memories forever residing in the back of my mind.

I could remember everybody treated Elijah differently, like he was the enemy. My father placed him in a room full of cameras like an animal placed on display.

Back then, I did not understand that Elijah was a threat to humans, that there was a beast buried deep within him that one day will unleash a fate worse than death.

If a human is bitten by a Pure Blooded vampire, they will start the slow and agonising process of turning into what's commonly known as a "Level E". There are three known types of vampires, there are the general vampires; who pose no threat to humans, Pure Bloods; who have the power to turn any unsuspecting victim into its own kind, and Level E; A human who has been through hell and now a dangerous vampire who lusts for blood and is a relentless savage.

For many years Elijah survived on blood tablets, these tablets looked no more than a Panadol, but once placed in a glass of clear sparkling water it dissolved into artificial blood making the water blood red.

We did not talk about Elijah's pain, we didn't need to, as each day wore on so did his pain. He constantly craved the taste of blood, he hated the tablets and refused to have them. His temper would flare and the longer he refused the angrier and scarier he became.

I'm starting to loose my sense of time, it feels like time itself is nothing more than small gains of sand, seeping through the tiniest gaps of cupped fingers. Every moment with Elijah is precious.

On the last day I saw Elijah was our first kiss, we were sitting under a beautiful cherry blossom tree, I was watching the petals fall like snowflakes when he whispered that he had a secret to tell me, he gently placed his hand on my cheek and leant in and kissed me softly on the cheek.

We talked all morning, about everything that had happened. From when I first met Elijah, all the way to that lovely spring morning. We laughed, and cried through all the good and hard times. It was like meeting my best friend all over again. I laid across his lap, my hair fell from my shoulders from my badly made ponytail, I remembered how Elijah gently stroked my neck before I heard a quiet snap of my skin being broken by his sharp teeth, the haunting sound of slurping as his lushes lips gently suckled on my neck.

The Bite of '87 was a devastating war, a war no human could have survived. We were outnumbered, and were slaughtered by the vampires. There was no mercy shown for the humans, the women were devoured, the children's heads and bodies were hanging from pikes and the men were lacerated and left to freeze from the biting snow.

The snow on the ground had thick gluggy blood spread for miles, you could hear the crunch of bones as you stood on their remains. Not a single soul lingered around the battlefield.

We are slaves to the endless reign of the vampires. For many years Vampire Hunters have kept the surviving humans safe, they have kept peace between those beasts and the humans. One night, my father returned to the cloudy city of Melbourne with a young boy clinging to his long overcoat. The boy looked no older than myself, 'this is Elijah', his parents were killed by a bad vampire.' My father told me quietly. 'Harlyn, please take care of him, okay?'

I didn't say a word, I nodded my head and lightly touched Elijah's hand, you can come inside and sit by the warm fire I said quietly. I gently weaved my fingers through his and lead him into the house.

For a while we did not speak, it wasn't completely silent, there was the sound of crackling beside us as the fire burned bright and the soft ticking of an old grandfather clock. The final moments of silence were broken by my voice. 'Are you hurt?' I asked. The boy didn't say a word, he simply scraped his fingers down the left side of his neck and winced at the pain he had caused.

I jumped at the boy, grabbing his hand in the process. 'Stop!' I cry 'that's hurting you!' I could feel is muscles in his arm tense as he fought against me. His hand was smeared with blood from his wound,

I placed my hands softly on either side of his broad shoulders and carefully slid his coat off his stick-like body.

The left side of his neck was almost entirely covered with blood.

A quiet gasp slips through my mouth, the boy did not say a word. He simply stared blankly at the bland carpet in front of him.

Without another word I jumped to my feet and ran, as I ran I could feel tears now starting to form in my eyes. I wasn't running because I was afraid or felt sick, I ran straight to the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth and a small basin. I filled the basin with a small amount of warm glistening water and then carefully carried it to the radiant fireplace. I dipped the cloth in the soothing water, and cautiously went up to the Elijah and asked "is it okay to clean you off?" I asked his permission, every time I did something, but Elijah never said a word. I was being so gentle because, I felt the boy in front of me, would fall to pieces otherwise.

I am often dwelling in the past, the haunting memories forever residing in the back of my mind.

I could remember everybody treated Elijah differently, like he was the enemy. My father placed him in a room full of cameras like an animal placed on display.

Back then, I did not understand that Elijah was a threat to humans, that there was a beast buried deep within him that one day will unleash a fate worse than death.

If a human is bitten by a Pure Blooded vampire, they will start the slow and agonising process of turning into what's commonly known as a "Level E". There are three known types of vampires, there are the general vampires; who pose no threat to humans, Pure Bloods; who have the power to turn any unsuspecting victim into its own kind, and Level E; A human who has been through hell and now a dangerous vampire who lusts for blood and is a relentless savage.

For many years Elijah survived on blood tablets, these tablets looked no more than a Panadol, but once placed in a glass of clear sparkling water it dissolved into artificial blood making the water blood red.

We did not talk about Elijah's pain, we didn't need to, as each day wore on so did his pain. He constantly craved the taste of blood, he hated the tablets and refused to have them. His temper would flare and the longer he refused the angrier and scarier he became.

I'm starting to loose my sense of time, it feels like time itself is nothing more than small gains of sand, seeping through the tiniest gaps of cupped fingers. Every moment with Elijah is precious.

On the last day I saw Elijah was our first kiss, we were sitting under a beautiful cherry blossom tree, I was watching the petals fall like snowflakes when he whispered that he had a secret to tell me, he gently placed his hand on my cheek and leant in and kissed me softly on the cheek.

We talked all morning, about everything that had happened. From when I first met Elijah, all the way to that lovely spring morning. We laughed, and cried through all the good and hard times. It was like meeting my best friend all over again. I laid across his lap, my hair fell from my shoulders from my badly made ponytail, I remembered how Elijah gently stroked my neck before I heard a quiet snap of my skin being broken by his sharp teeth, the haunting sound of slurping as his lushes lips gently suckled on my neck.

I knew, that final piece of humanity has seeped from his body, like a dying light becoming nothing more than wax.

It was finally time to end this...


End file.
